jeffooi
21-12-2002, 06:07 PM
<font size="+1">Are there Penangites in Subang Jaya?</font>
Apart from food, there's PORR which may affect you during your balik kampung trips. Hope you get the right picture.
THE MALAY MAIL
Saturday, December 21, 2002
'Political ploy' claim ridiculous. says MP
V. Vasudevan
ALLEGATIONS have flown fast and furious about the Penang Outer Ring Road (Porr).
A big favourite has been that the project was a political ploy by the Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia to do in its political rival, the MCA.
The accusation levelled by residents sympathetic to the MCA is based on the fact that Porr’s re-alignment cuts across three MCA constituencies, but only one under Gerakan.
<img src="http://www.parlimen.gov.my/images/70.jpg" align="left">“That is ridiculous,” thundered Bukit Bendera MP Chia Kwang Chye (pictute left), who is also Gerakan secretary-general, and affected by the Porr.
Chia said the alignment was put in place by Japanese consultants, about 20 years ago.
“It was aligned based on the terrain. It was done by an independent consultant and they could not have decided which consitutency to run the road through.”
Chia said the allegations that the outcry was a product of some component party members not getting a piece of the Porr action, was equally preposterous.
“The very people making the allegations are the ones who will also complain that the Barisan State Government did nothing to improve the traffic situation in the State. They are not going to be kind to you.”
Chia said the people who claimed that Porr had an eight-year lifespan were clearly missing the point.
“Eight years down the road, if the situation becomes worse, the complaint will be the same, that the State Government did nothing. The finger will be pointed at the State Government,” he said.
Chia said the ring road was based on planning.
“This is based on projection and growth. You have to plan to cater to your demand for water or for that matter, power. The ring road is a product of this. You have to manage the present and plan for the future.”
Chia said the State Government had been explaining to the people as to why there was a need for the ring road.
“We have tried to explain the project to those affected, that the State is offering a fair compensation so that those affected will not feel exploited.”
Chia conceded the money may compensate for the loss of property but not the emotional attachment to the property.
“Some are family homes and we emphatise with them,” he said.
A planner familiar with the project said the anti-Porr group was looking purely at one aspect of the project and not the whole scheme.
The approach taken by the State Government, he said, was integrated.
“They are looking at the overall picture which is traffic management, the transport system and infrastructure network. The anti-Porr group is looking at it from the aspect of transport system only.”
The planner said the monorail and bus system could be put in place but the congestion problem was not going to be solved.
“Assuming you went with an improved bus system, you still need the infrastructure to disperse the traffic. A rail-based system is also going to raise the same heckles that the ring road has raised.
“It is going to cut through residential areas and there is no guarantee it is going to work.”
The planner asked how successful the rail-based transport system in Kuala Lumpur was.
“It has worked in some areas and not in others.”
Either way, the Porr argument will continue even after the project begins.
But one thing is for sure: The complaints will stop when motorists start driving on it and use it, and that too, for eight years only – if the anti-Porr group is to be believed.
FULL STORY:
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/MM/Saturday/National/20021221092026
JEFF OOI: Chia Kwang Chye is the parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Communications and Multimedia. He beat Lim Kit Siang in the Bukit Bendera parliament seat during the 1999 general election. Bukit Bendera, within which sits Penang CM Tan Sri Koh Tsu Khoon's Tanjung Bunga state seat, is also affected by PORR.
Chia holds a Masters degree in town planning from USM, the same university I studied for my undergrad degree.
Shamelessly ;), I also hail from Penang state with family roots still there. But Penang has changed greatly, for good and for worse.
Apart from food, there's PORR which may affect you during your balik kampung trips. Hope you get the right picture.
THE MALAY MAIL
Saturday, December 21, 2002
'Political ploy' claim ridiculous. says MP
V. Vasudevan
ALLEGATIONS have flown fast and furious about the Penang Outer Ring Road (Porr).
A big favourite has been that the project was a political ploy by the Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia to do in its political rival, the MCA.
The accusation levelled by residents sympathetic to the MCA is based on the fact that Porr’s re-alignment cuts across three MCA constituencies, but only one under Gerakan.
<img src="http://www.parlimen.gov.my/images/70.jpg" align="left">“That is ridiculous,” thundered Bukit Bendera MP Chia Kwang Chye (pictute left), who is also Gerakan secretary-general, and affected by the Porr.
Chia said the alignment was put in place by Japanese consultants, about 20 years ago.
“It was aligned based on the terrain. It was done by an independent consultant and they could not have decided which consitutency to run the road through.”
Chia said the allegations that the outcry was a product of some component party members not getting a piece of the Porr action, was equally preposterous.
“The very people making the allegations are the ones who will also complain that the Barisan State Government did nothing to improve the traffic situation in the State. They are not going to be kind to you.”
Chia said the people who claimed that Porr had an eight-year lifespan were clearly missing the point.
“Eight years down the road, if the situation becomes worse, the complaint will be the same, that the State Government did nothing. The finger will be pointed at the State Government,” he said.
Chia said the ring road was based on planning.
“This is based on projection and growth. You have to plan to cater to your demand for water or for that matter, power. The ring road is a product of this. You have to manage the present and plan for the future.”
Chia said the State Government had been explaining to the people as to why there was a need for the ring road.
“We have tried to explain the project to those affected, that the State is offering a fair compensation so that those affected will not feel exploited.”
Chia conceded the money may compensate for the loss of property but not the emotional attachment to the property.
“Some are family homes and we emphatise with them,” he said.
A planner familiar with the project said the anti-Porr group was looking purely at one aspect of the project and not the whole scheme.
The approach taken by the State Government, he said, was integrated.
“They are looking at the overall picture which is traffic management, the transport system and infrastructure network. The anti-Porr group is looking at it from the aspect of transport system only.”
The planner said the monorail and bus system could be put in place but the congestion problem was not going to be solved.
“Assuming you went with an improved bus system, you still need the infrastructure to disperse the traffic. A rail-based system is also going to raise the same heckles that the ring road has raised.
“It is going to cut through residential areas and there is no guarantee it is going to work.”
The planner asked how successful the rail-based transport system in Kuala Lumpur was.
“It has worked in some areas and not in others.”
Either way, the Porr argument will continue even after the project begins.
But one thing is for sure: The complaints will stop when motorists start driving on it and use it, and that too, for eight years only – if the anti-Porr group is to be believed.
FULL STORY:
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/MM/Saturday/National/20021221092026
JEFF OOI: Chia Kwang Chye is the parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Communications and Multimedia. He beat Lim Kit Siang in the Bukit Bendera parliament seat during the 1999 general election. Bukit Bendera, within which sits Penang CM Tan Sri Koh Tsu Khoon's Tanjung Bunga state seat, is also affected by PORR.
Chia holds a Masters degree in town planning from USM, the same university I studied for my undergrad degree.
Shamelessly ;), I also hail from Penang state with family roots still there. But Penang has changed greatly, for good and for worse.